Railroad track spike



July 30, 1935. E, KEOUGH 2,009,849

RAILROAD TRACK SPIKE Original Filed May 16, 1931 'INVENTOR ROBERT EMMETKEOUGH AT T YS Patented July 30, 1935 UNITED STATES RAILROAD TRACK SPIKERobert Emmet Keough, La Grange, Ill., assignor of one-half to Charles W.Breed, Western Springs, Ill.

Application May 16, 1931, Serial No. 537,814

Renewed December 26, 1934 3 Claims. (QL'85-28) This invention relates totrack spikes of the type designed particularly for use in railroad work,and employed principally for holding the track or running rails to theties. One object of the invention is to provide a reversible form oftrack spike having a head which overhangs or projects equally at bothsides. Another objectis to provide a spike having a head with lessoverhang than the present standard'spike whereby it is less likely to bebent if driven too forcibly after the head has made contact with therail flange. And a further'object is to provide a spike formed with ahead so designed as to minimize the likelihood of bending the spike inwithdrawing it with a claw 'or similar tool. The invention consists incertain features of construction herein shown and described, and moreparticularly indicated in the claims.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a side elevation of a track spike embodying this invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a top plan view showing the outline of the head and itsrelation to the shank.

Figure 4 is a side elevation showing a standard type of track spike asbent by over-driving.

Figure 5 is a side elevation indicating the tendency for a standard typeof track spike to be bent during withdrawal by a claw bar.

Figure 6 is a side elevation looking in the direction of the arrow 6 onFigure 2.

For many years the standard form of railway track spike has been madewith a shank of substantially square cross section and with a head whoseprojection or overhang laterally from the shank was substantiallygreater than the thickness of the shank. Such spikes are shown inFigures 4 and 5, and also in dotted outline in Figure 1. However,experience indicates that this overhang is considerably greater thannecessary, especially since adoption of present tieplate constructions,and that in some cases it is a real detriment because when the extremeedge, A, of the head of such a spike, S, engages the surface of the railflange, B, and is struck an excessively heavy blow or an additional blowwith a maul or hammer, the resistance of the flange, B, acting upwardlyagainst the spike head at A, tends to distort the hook or head, asindicated with some exaggeration in Figure 4, and thus leaves the spikehead somewhat bent in such shape that it is unfit to be used over. Forwhen the edge of the head has been thus bent up at A, as shown in Figure4, and the workman attempts to drive such a spike, his hammer is morethan likely to encounter this turned-up edge, A, throwing a severebending moment into the spike and tending to spring the shank and causethe spike to snap out of position. And when the head is bent in thisform it is impossible for 5 the workman in the field to straighten itcold. Also following a derailment the track spikes of the standard typeare frequently found in the condition illustrated in Figure 4, becausethe hammer blows of the car wheels as they slip oil 10 the rails, havingthe same sheet on the spikes as over-driving. The present inventionreduces the overhang of the edge, A, of the head from the'shank, thusreducing the leverage through which pressure against the under side ofthe head can operate in the event of over-driving, and very muchreducing the tendencyfor the head to be distorted in this way In thestandard form of spike the lateral overhang'of the head, marked at C inFigure 5, is in the nature of a straight but somewhat inclined flangewhich may be engaged initially at any point in its length by the toe ofa claw, such as thatv indicated at G, when the spike is to be withdrawn.If the point of engagement is not I directly in the median plane of thespike shank the force exerted by the claw will have a tendency to bendthe shank and usually does so.

The present invention overcomes these objectionable features byproviding a spike which is illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, and in whichthe square shank, l, is formed with the usual chisel point, 2, but issurmounted by a specially formed head, 3. The spike is normally insertedwith the blade or edge, 4, of the chisel point positioned parallel tothe track and with one of the faces,

5, against or adjacent the edge of the rail flange. The head, 3, hasoverhanging portions, 6, 6, extending respectively beyond the planes ofthe faces, 5, 5, and exactly equal in extent, so that either of thesefaces, 5, 5, may be used against the edge of the rail flange and eitheroverhang, 6, Will serve to engage the top of the flange or a splice barassociated with it, as indicated in dotted outline in Figure I. Theextent of the overhang, 6, is marked at W and is substantially less thanthe thickness of the shank, being shown as equal to about half thethickness, D, of the shank, I, so that as it comes into contact with thetop of the rail flange the bending strain which it is capable oftransferring to the shank of the spike is much less than that whichoccurs when a standard spike is used. The under surface, 6, of each ofthe overhanging portions, 6, slopes upwardly and outwardly atsubstantially the same inclination 5 to the horizontal as in thestandard spike so as to properly seat on the correspondingly inclinedupper surface of a rail flange. This inclination is commonly in theratio of four to one.

Another advantage of the present construction is indicated in Figure 1,which shows in dotted outline not only a portion of a track rail, J, butalso a joint or splice bar, K, having a lower flange which overlies thebase flange, J of the rail, so that at the joint the spikes must engagethis lower flange of the splice bar, K, instead of engaging the railflange directly. The upperflange, K of the joint bar projects outwardlyto such an extent as to render it impossible to start and drive astandard spike, S (shown in dotted outline) without tilting it slightlyfrom a correct vertical position, whereas with the reduced overhang, 6,of the present improved spike it can be set vertically adjacent the edgeof the rail flange, J in the position shown in the dot-dash outline inFigure l, and may thus be driven straight home to the position indicatedin full lines. As shown in the plan view in Figure 3, the overhangingportions, 5, of the head terminate in straight edges or lips, 6 theremaining outline of the head, however, consists of arcuate edges, lwhich define the laterally overhanging portions, 1, cf the head flange.The under surface of each of the flanges, l, slopes downwardly from bothedges, 6*, substantially to the median plane of the shank, I, where thetwo slopes merge in a ridge or apex, T which is downwardly convex in avertical plane transverse to the chisel edge of the spike and the trackrail, as seen in Figure 6. This under side of each flange, l, is alsoinclined upwardly and outwardly from the shank of the spike to affordinitial clearance for the insertion of a claw or like tool when thespike is to be withdrawn. It will be evident that by reason of theoppositely inclined surfaces merging in the apex, l the initial contactof the claw will be almost certainly with this apex .portion, 1*, whichis in the plane of the center line or axis of the spike shank, l.Therefore the upward pressure on the under side of the head will be inline with this axis and will have no tendency to bend the spike as doesthe pressure of the claw, G, shown in Figure 5, as applied against thestraight under surface, H, of the standard spike, S, thereinillustrated.

I claim:

1. A track spike having a head comprising a portion'projecting'at oneside for overhanging and engaging the foot flange of a track rail, saidhead comprising portions projecting at opposite sides of the spiketransversely of the track-railengaging portion and symmetrically withrespect to the medial vertical plane of the spike body transversely ofthe track rail, said opposite head portions having their under sidescurved convexly downward about a horizontal axis in the medial verticalplane of the spike parallel to the track rail.

2. A track spike having a head comprising symmetrically projectingportions at opposite sides of a medial vertical plane of the spike bodyparallel to the track rail for alternatively overhanging and engagingthe foot flange of the track rail, said head comprising portionsprojecting at opposite sides of the spike transversely of thetrack-rail-engaging portion and symmetrically with respect to the medialvertical plane of the spike body transversely of the track rail, saidopposite head portions having their under sides curved convexly downwardabout a horizontal axis in the medial vertical plane of the spikeparallel to the track rail.

3. A track spike having a head comprising a portion projecting at oneside for overhanging and engaging the foot flange of a track rail, saidhead comprising portions projecting at opposite sides of the spiketransversely of the rail-engaging portion and with their under sidesformed convex downwardly, the lowest points of said convex portionslying in the medial vertical plane of the spike body parallel to thetrack rail.

ROBERT EMMET KEOUGH.

